Three years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of it are still being felt in some New York classrooms – especially with younger school children.

Jennifer Howard, an elementary school teacher in Poughkeepsie, is on a mission to honor the diversity in her classroom while teaching the legacy of Black historical figures in America. She goes to the A.J. Williams-Meyers African Roots Center’s library in Kingston to pick out books for her students.

“What’s most important is that children read books that they can relate to,” said Howard, who has been teaching for more than 30 years. “And over the years, I’ve had a number of experiences with children when I’ve seen their eyes light up, and I’ve seen them really enjoy books that have characters that look like them.”

Howard says the selection is unlike any other.

“I find very good books here, very high quality children’s literature that I can use,” Howard said. “What’s good is that I can take these books and create units of study for my students.”

Howard says books like these are important for students for color.

“The changing demographic in America necessitates that these books be in all classrooms,” she said.

She is concerned about more than just access to books to create an inclusive environment. Howard believes reading is fundamental to building life skills. Studies show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elementary schoolchildren who are falling behind.

Research by Curriculum Associates shows U.S. students in early elementary school, especially second and third grades, are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic.

“Families aren’t reading together as much as they used to; children are not reading as much as they need to. It is a factor, it is a very important factor,” Howard said. “Children need to become functionally literate to do things in the world.”

Howard wants to prepare her students to go out into the world and make a difference. She says the job of teachers is to make sure they’re armed with the knowledge to do so.

“There are very many Black teachers in this area, who would really enjo, and benefit from coming to this library, and using this library,” Howard said. “But not only Black teachers, teachers in general can benefit from coming here and getting a wealth of knowledge.”

Howard says she’s distributed classroom sets of books from the African Roots Center to teachers around the Hudson Valley. And she’s even brought some Black teachers to the center to pick out their own books.